Comparison of highly purified human menopausal gonadotropin and recombinant follicle stimulating hormone use in patients undergoing in vitro fertilization with progestin-primed ovarian stimulation protocol: a single center retrospective analysis.

PURPOSE: Recently, progesterone has been used to prevent LH surge instead of GnRH analogues during ART treatments, which is known as progesterone-primed ovarian stimulation (PPOS) protocol. During ART treatment, highly purified human menopausal gonadotropin (HP-hMG) and recombinant follicle stimulating hormone (rFSH) are two of the agents used for stimulation of antral follicles. The aim of this study is to compare the efficacy and success of HP-hMG and rFSH agents in the ovarian stimulation step of the PPOS protocol, which has not been previously reported in the literature. METHODS: This retrospective study was conducted at a university hospital with patients who underwent IVF treatment using PPOS protocols in between January 2019 and July 2021. For ovarian stimulation, rFSH was used in group I and HP-hMG was used in group II. Mature oocyte ratio was the primary outcome, and live birth rate was the secondary outcome. Mann-Whitney and Chi-square tests were used for statistical analysis. All p values below 0.05 were considered significant. RESULTS: Total numbers of follicles, oocytes, MII, and 2PN numbers obtained were similar between the two groups. The fertilization rates were 66.7% in the rFSH group and 64.3% in the HP-hMG group (p > 0.05). The pregnancy rates were 53.5% and 46.7% in the rFSH and HP-hMG groups, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference between pregnancy, abortus, and live birth rates. CONCLUSION: In this study, it is demonstrated that stimulation of oocytes with either rFSH or hMG in the PPOS protocol, which has been added to IVF treatment protocols in recent years, had no statistical difference regarding mature oocyte numbers and live birth rates between the two groups. These results are consistent with the previous literature which compared rFSH and hMG in GnRH agonist and antagonist protocols.

Management of transient ejaculation failure due to erectile difficulties encountered on the oocyte retrieval day / Tratamiento de la incapacidad transitoria para eyacular a causa de dificultades eréctiles surgidas el día de la recuperación de oocitos

INTRODUCTION: Transient ejaculation failure can be seen on the oocyte retrieval day which might cause the cancelation of oocyte retrieval procedure. The aim of this study was to evaluate the management of these patients and to assess the clinical outcome of intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) using spermatozoa obtained from them. METHODS: The records of the oocyte pick-up (OPU) procedures between November 2014 and January 2017 were reviewed, the management and ICSI outcomes of 26 patients with transient ejaculation failure due to erectile difficulties on the oocyte retrieval day were evaluated. RESULTS: Intracavernosal injection (ICI), percutaneous sperm aspiration (PESA) and microdissection testicular sperm extraction (micro-TESE) were performed to 15, 6 and 5 patients, respectively. The sperm retrieval rate (SRR) and live birth rate (LBR) of ICI, PESA and micro-TESE were 26%, 63.6% and 100% and 40%, 16.7%, 38.4% respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Although a limited number of cases were evaluated in this study, micro-TESE appears to be the preferable approach when assessed both in terms of sperm retrieval method success and ICSI results

INTRODUCCIÓN: Se puede observar una incapacidad transitoria para eyacular el día de la recuperación de oocitos, que podría provocar la anulación del procedimiento. El objetivo de este estudio fue evaluar el tratamiento de estos pacientes y el resultado clínico de la inyección intracitoplasmática de espermatozoides (IICE) con espermatozoides propios. MÉTODOS: Se revisaron las historias clínicas de procedimientos de aspiración de oocitos (OPU) entre noviembre de 2014 y enero de 2017, se evaluaron el tratamiento y los resultados de la IICE en 26 pacientes con incapacidad temporal para eyacular a causa de dificultades eréctiles el día de recuperación de oocitos. RESULTADOS: La inyección intracavernosa (ICI), la aspiración percutánea de espermatozoides del epidídimo (PESA) y la microcirugía para la extracción de espermatozoides testiculares (micro-TESE) se realizaron a 15, 6 y 5 pacientes, respectivamente. La tasa de recuperación de espermatozoides (SRR) y la tasa de recién nacidos vivos (LBR) de ICI, PESA y micro-TESE fueron del 26, del 63,6 y del 100%, por una parte, y del 40, del 16,7 y del 38,4%, respectivamente. CONCLUSIONES: Aunque se ha analizado un número limitado de casos en este estudio, parece que la micro-TESE es el enfoque preferible cuando se evalúa tanto el éxito del método de recuperación de espermatozoides como el de los resultados de la IICE

Outcomes of nerve-sparing laparoscopic sacropexy on one hundred fifteen cases.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the postoperative anatomic and functional outcomes of patients who underwent laparoscopic nerve-sparing sacrocolpopexy or sacrocervicopexy for pelvic organ prolapse (POP) POP-Q stage III and IV apical prolapse, and to delineate the contributing factors for recurrence. STUDY DESIGN AND CLASSIFICATION: The file records of patients who underwent sacropexy in the last five years were reviewed retrospectively and compared in terms of preoperative and postoperative anatomic findings and symptoms. PATIENTS: Patients who underwent laparoscopic nerve-sparing surgery for treatment of POP-Q Stage III and IV/prolapse of uterine or vaginal cuff were included. INTERVENTIONS: Postoperative anatomic and functional outcomes were evaluated using POP-Q classification and urinary/anal function by questioning during visits. RESULTS: The mean follow-up duration was 24.2 ± 17.6 months. Anatomic recovery was achieved in 104 (90.4 %) cases. Advanced age (≥70 years), longer duration of symptoms, and low body mass index were determined as parameters related to recurrence risk.

Management of transient ejaculation failure due to erectile difficulties encountered on the oocyte retrieval day.

INTRODUCTION: Transient ejaculation failure can be seen on the oocyte retrieval day which might cause the cancelation of oocyte retrieval procedure. The aim of this study was to evaluate the management of these patients and to assess the clinical outcome of intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) using spermatozoa obtained from them. METHODS: The records of the oocyte pick-up (OPU) procedures between November 2014 and January 2017 were reviewed, the management and ICSI outcomes of 26 patients with transient ejaculation failure due to erectile difficulties on the oocyte retrieval day were evaluated. RESULTS: Intracavernosal injection (ICI), percutaneous sperm aspiration (PESA) and microdissection testicular sperm extraction (micro-TESE) were performed to 15, 6 and 5 patients, respectively. The sperm retrieval rate (SRR) and live birth rate (LBR) of ICI, PESA and micro-TESE were 26%, 63.6% and 100% and 40%, 16.7%, 38.4% respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Although a limited number of cases were evaluated in this study, micro-TESE appears to be the preferable approach when assessed both in terms of sperm retrieval method success and ICSI results.

Effects of the microfluidic chip technique in sperm selection for intracytoplasmic sperm injection for unexplained infertility: a prospective, randomized controlled trial.

PURPOSE: The new-generation spermatozoon selection method, microfluidic technique called Fertile Chip® gives the chance to select spermatozoa with lower DNA fragmentation indexes. We aimed to determine the effect of microfluidic techniques for spermatozoon selection in ICSI treatment in patients with unexplained infertility. METHODS: This prospective randomized controlled study was conducted at a university hospital. One hundred twenty-two couples with unexplained infertility were included, in which 61 of them were treated with conventional swim-up techniques (control group) and another 61 with the microfluidic technique (study group) for spermatozoon selection in IVF treatment. The fertilization rates and the quality of embryos were the primary outcomes, and clinical pregnancy (CPR) and live birth rates (LBR) were the secondary outcomes of our study. RESULTS: CPR in the study group and control group were 48.3% and 44.8% (p = 0.35) and LBR were 38.3% and 36.2% (p = 0.48), respectively. The fertilization rates were similar (63.6% and 57.4%, p = 0.098). A total number of grade 1 embryos were significantly higher in microfluidic technique group than in control group (1.45 ± 1.62 vs. 0.83 ± 1.03, p = 0.01). There were more surplus top quality embryos leftover to freeze in the study group (0.71 ± 1.48 vs. 0.22 ± 0.69, p = 0.02). CONCLUSION: Our study showed that the microfluidic technique does not change fertilization, CPR, and LBR during IVF treatment for couples with unexplained infertility. Despite the fact that the total number of grade 1 embryos after ICSI treatment and the surplus number of grade 1 embryos after embryo transfer were higher in the microfluidic technique group, the study was not powered to detect this difference. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT02488434.

Luteal phase support after mild ovulation induction with intrauterine insemination: an on-going debate.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of luteal phase support (LPS) using progesterone vaginal gel on pregnancy rate (PR) and live birth rate (LBR) during cycles in which controlled ovarian stimulation (COH) was performed using gonadotropins with intrauterine insemination (IUI) cycles in patients with unexplained infertility and polycystic ovarian syndrome. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From 2010 to 2015, all IUI cycles in which COH was performed using gonadotropins were evaluated retrospectively. LPS was not used until July 2013, after which vaginal progesterone gel was applied in the luteal phase of IUI cycles. Both groups of patients were evaluated in terms of the effect of LPS on PR and LBR. RESULTS: In total, 1578 IUI cycles were evaluated, of which 481 were LPS (+) and 1097 LPS (-). PR and LBR per cycle were 10.6% and 7.4%, respectively, in the LPS (+) group, and 11.6% and 7.7%, respectively, in the LPS (-) group (p = 0.31 and p = 0.25). PR and LBR per patient were 17% and 12%, respectively, in the LPS (+) group, and 17.4% and 12.3%, respectively, in the LPS (-) group (p = 0.48 and p = 0.82). CONCLUSIONS: We found no difference in PR and LBR per cycle and per patient according to the use of LPS in IUI cycles in which COH was performed using gonadotropins. Thus, routine use of LPS in gonadotropin-stimulated cycles requires further research involving larger numbers of patients.

Addition of gonadotropin releasing hormone agonist for luteal phase support in in-vitro fertilization: an analysis of 2739 cycles.

OBJECTIVE: Luteal phase is defective in in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycles, and many regimens were tried for the very best luteal phase support (LPS). Gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist use, which was administered as an adjunct to the luteal phase support in IVF cycles, was suggested to improve pregnancy outcome measures in certain randomized studies. We analyzed the effects of addition of GnRH agonist to standard progesterone luteal support on pregnancy outcome measures, particularly the live birth rates. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This is a retrospective cohort study, including 2739 IVF cycles. Long GnRH agonist and antagonist stimulation IVF cycles with cleavage-stage embryo transfer were included. Cycles were divided into two groups: Group A included cycles with single-dose GnRH agonist plus progesterone LPS and Group B included progesterone only LPS. Live birth rates were the primary outcome measures of the analysis. Miscarriage rates and multiple pregnancy rates were the secondary outcome measures. RESULTS: Live birth rates were not statistically different in GnRH agonist plus progesterone (Group A) and progesterone only (Group B) groups in both the long agonist and antagonist stimulation arms (40.8%/41.2% and 32.8%/34.4%, p<0.05 respectively). Moreover, pregnancy rates, implantation rates, and miscarriage rates were found to be similar between groups. Multiple pregnancy rates in antagonist cycles were significantly higher in Group A than those in Group B (12.0% and 6.9%, respectively). CONCLUSION: A beneficial effect of a single dose of GnRH agonist administration as a luteal phase supporting agent is yet to be determined because of the wide heterogeneity of data present in literature. Well-designed randomized clinical studies are required to clarify any effect of luteal GnRH agonist addition on pregnancy outcome measures with different doses, timing, and administration routes of GnRH agonists.

Pathological assessment of follicular loss in laparoscopic endometrioma excision: effects of cyst size and surgeon's experience.

AIM: We planned to histologically demonstrate unintentional ovarian harm caused by excision of endometriomas. METHODS: One hundred and seven patients with 135 endometriomas had laparoscopic excision of endometriomas at a tertiary health-care clinic over a 6-year period. Records were obtained retrospectively and pathological specimens were reevaluated to demonstrate follicular loss. Tissue damage was scored morphologically and compared according to surgeons' experience and endometrioma size. RESULTS: Ovarian follicles were detected in 80% of endometrioma specimens near the cyst wall. Morphological scores of ovarian follicles were not affected by the surgeon's experience or endometrioma size. CONCLUSION: Surgical excision of endometriomas causes inevitable ovarian follicular loss. As observed in our study, this loss rate could not be traced to surgical experience or ovarian size.

First trimester maternal lipid levels and serum markers of small- and large-for-gestational age infants.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate if first trimester lipids, sonographic parameters and serum markers are related to small- and large-for-gestational age (SGA, LGA) infants. METHODS: This study was conducted at Baskent University Adana Research Center between December 2009 and July 2011 and enrolled 433 women. Blood samples were drawn to measure fasting blood glucose, serum triglycerides, cholesterol, very low-density lipoprotein, low-density lipoprotein, high-density lipoprotein, fß-hCG and pregnancy associated protein-A (PAPP-A) at the first trimester. Crown rump length and nuchal translucency were measured as suggested by the fetal medicine foundation. RESULTS: LGA group was significantly taller (p = 0.016) and SGA group had significantly greater BMI (0.025). SGA fetuses were born at a significantly earlier gestational age (p = 0.001). Univariate analysis revealed that LGA group had significantly lower cholesterol (p = 0.038) and LDL levels (p = 0.041). PAPP-A was significantly lower in SGA Group compared with LGA Group (0.027). After controlling for age, parity, height, pre-pregnant BMI, weight gain during pregnancy and fasting blood sugar, none of the lipids, serum markers or sonographic parameters was related to LGA. PAPP-A was the only parameter significantly associated with SGA after multivariate analysis (p = 0.008). CONCLUSION: PAPP-A was significantly associated with SGA after controlling for confounders.

Fertility outcomes of patients with early stage endometrial carcinoma.

AIM: Three to five percent of endometrial carcinoma patients are younger than 40 years and may desire fertility. Conservative treatment can be employed in these cases. We aimed to review treatment outcomes of patients who were diagnosed with endometrial carcinoma and who wanted to preserve their fertility. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We reviewed nine patients who were diagnosed with early stage endometrial carcinoma and wanted to spare their fertility. The patients were followed up at Baskent University Adana Research Center from January 2004 to December 2011. RESULTS: In all patients the carcinoma presented as polyps, which were resected by hysteroscopy. After being informed about both surgical and medical therapies, four patients preferred surgery and five preferred medical treatment. The mean number of in vitro fertilization trials after conservative treatment was 3.25. One woman, who was on medroxyprogesterone acetate, delivered a healthy term baby from a fresh cycle. Another woman, who was on dydrogesterone, got pregnant from a thawing cycle, which later ended up in a missed abortus. Of all the patients who chose medical treatment, three had surgery at the end. One woman developed an ovarian tumor during the follow-up; one woman had a recurrence of endometrial carcinoma on dilatation and curettage for missed abortus and one woman tried in vitro fertilization several times and could not get pregnant, thus decided to have surgery. Two women had stage IA endometrial carcinoma and one had stage IIB ovarian carcinoma. CONCLUSION: Conservative treatment of endometrial carcinoma is safe in most cases. However, patients should be well-informed about the risks of conservative treatment because delaying definitive treatment sometimes worsens the prognosis.

Do intrauterine growth restricted fetuses of the hypertensive and normotensive mothers differ from each other?

PURPOSE: To investigate if normotensive and hypertensive patients with intrauterine growth restricted (IUGR) fetuses were different with respect to maternal and fetal characteristics and Doppler flow. METHODS: The records of patients with IUGR fetuses who had to be delivered before 34th gestational week because of fetal distress were examined. Early Doppler abnormalities were defined as increased umbilical artery resistance and redistribution of blood flow in the middle cerebral artery while late Doppler abnormalities were defined as the absence or reversal of umbilical artery blood flow and Doppler flow changes in venous Doppler. t Test, Chi-square test and Mann-Whitney U test were used for the comparison of data as appropriate. p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Thirty-six patients were hypertensive while 42 were normotensive. Gestational week at admission for hypertensive and normotensive groups (30.8 ± 3.6 vs. 32.3 ± 3.1) (p = 0.057), time to delivery (7.1 ± 12.6 vs. 4.3 ± 9.1 days) (p = 0.267) and gestational week at delivery (31.8 ± 3.1 vs. 32.9 ± 2.9) (p = 0.117) were similar. Birth weight was significantly lower (1242 ± 534 vs. 1516 ± 504 g) (p = 0.02) in the normotensive group. The frequency of having oligohydramnios (64.2 % for normotensive and 44.4 % for hypertensive patients) (p = 0.079) was similar in both groups. Early Doppler abnormalities were more common in hypertensive group (75 vs. 40.5 %) (p = 0.001) while late Doppler abnormalities were more common in normotensive group (25 vs. 59.5 %) (p = 0.001). CONCLUSION: Birth weight was lower and late Doppler abnormalities were more common in the normotensive group while early Doppler abnormalities were more common in hypertensive group.

Transient hydrops fetalis in a prenatally diagnosed pentasomy X?

Numerical abnormalities of sex chromosomes are seen approximately 1 in 400 live births. Pentasomy X is a very rare chromosomal abnormality and it is defined as presence of five X chromosomes instead of two. Prenatal sonographic features have rarely been described in the literature before. Here we present a non-immune fetal hydrops diagnosed during the 17th week of gestation. Ultrasonographic examination revealed subcutaneous edema, pleural effusion and ascites, and also clinodactyly of the fifth fingers of both hands. The fetal karyotype was assessed as 49,XXXXX (pentasomy X) in two different culture flasks. Hydropic signs regressed at 21 weeks' gestation. Prenatal diagnosis may not be possible usually for this rare chromosomal abnormality. Every anomaly detected prenatally, such as transient hydrops, may help us to diagnose pentasomy X.